The Little Voice
by BLunatic
Summary: As your guardian devil, these ruby eyes look only at you. "It's ironic. The same hands that held hers so gently will be the same ones used to kill her." /SasuSaku/
1. the prologue to an affliction

**T**_he_ L**i**_t_tl**e** _V_oi**c**_e_

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**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**The actual basis of this story was Alice Human Sacrifice, a PV of Vocaloid,. I also kind of pulled the butler thing from Mei-chan no Shitsuji (I watched the drama and got obsessed). I also wanted you to know that Luciano and Laelia were names we were planning to use for an original story. I'm trying not to reveal so much to the point that the story gets boring.**

**Though, I guess I see how it was similar to Kuroshitsuji. It was odd, since I've never watched the anime. Well, whatever, I apologize and will rewrite this. **

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She lived in a **wonderful **world,

Covered in **darkness **and **beauty**.

A place **no one **could **touch**

Unless you were dark and **beautiful **yourself.

**Daring to approach **them

Would only make you a **thorn in their side**.

You would be like a **cloud**,

**Tainting **and **obscuring **the **moon **and the **sun**.

Simply espying them would cause a pother.

**Paragons** of beauty,

The **flawless elite**,

She belonged to this class.

**Cosseted **since birth,

They are **venerated **by everyone and anyone.

The **pulchritude **of their facades **cover **their **darkness** and **true nature**,

Their **graceful** moves are acute and incisive.

**Standing **on their **own level**,

**Sitting **in their **own throne**.

Of course, people like this

Obviously have someone **close to their side at all times**.

"Daddy!"

The beloved daughter of Luciano and Laelia Esmeralda.

"Hm?" A beautiful man with shining black hair and beautiful emerald eyes smiled at his pink haired little girl. "Now, now, Sakura. I told you to rest, didn't I?" He picked her up, lifting his daughter unto his shoulders. The height difference was obvious, for she only reached his hip. They dressed in noble clothes, and seemed almost like look-alikes (besides the pink hair, of course).

"Who did?" Sakura replied as she tilted her head to the side and smiled innocently. Luciano rolled his eyes and then chuckled, patting her head. "I did, silly."

"Lucy!"

A beautiful lady with rose colored hair and blue almond shaped eyes ran towards the two. Before she reached them, however, she stepped on the hem of her dress to make a grand meeting between her face and the marble floor.

"Mommy!" Sakura cried as she climbed off her father and dashed towards the woman. But she met the same fate, tripping over her own two feet and crashing to the floor.

'_Lucy' _stood there, unsure of how to react. Despite his wife's graceful appearance, she was quite clumsy. She'd trip down the stairs, tumble into bushes, fall into flowers, etc. His daughter, on the other hand, was much different. This was the first time the small girl ever fell.

…Which one should he help first?

Suddenly, Laelia looked up, her attractive face still a bit red from the impact. She made a funny, animated _'shocked' _face and immediately shot up, dashing towards the little girl. Luciano was secretly betting with himself that she would fall once more.

"My baby!" And she picked up Sakura, sobbing, "Are you alright?" Laelia held out her daughter, spinning around in hopes of making her feel better. All the Sakura did, though, was rub her face and grumble, "Owie."

"Here, hand her over to me." Luciano said, picking her up from his wife's arms and carrying her into his own. The father couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's adorable face; her cheeks were a bit swollen and slightly smudged with dirt, and her familiar emerald eyes were still wide from the shock of falling. He smiled and pinched her cheeks, immediately bringing her back to normal.

"Hey!" Sakura whined as she slapped his large hands away. "That hurts." She put a small hand on her cheek and pouted. Stupid father, treating her like a little kid.

Laelia gave out a sigh of relief and brought Sakura back into her arms. "Are you alright, my little Sakura?" The said girl grinned and nodded her head vigorously, "Yes, momma. Can you put me down?" _ 'Momma' _pouted but reluctantly set her down back on the floor. Sakura brushed off her dress and picked up her fallen porcelain doll, making sure that nothing happened to it. After doing so, she gave a sigh of relief and called out in a commanding tone similar to her father's,

"Scarecrow!"

Immediately, a young silver haired man dressed in a black suit appeared. He wore a mask (one you'd normally wear while having a cold) and an eye patch bandage. You can see the outline of his smile, and his hand was occupied with a well-written, mature novel.

"You called, mademoiselle?" _'Scarecrow' _asked as he put his book away and bowed. He remained tilted over, his hand placed over his heart and a smile still on his lips. Sakura smiled back innocently and clapped her hands, "Let's go disport ourselves by any means." The young man chuckled and pulled himself back up. His smile grew wider.

"As you wish, m'lady, for I am one of your humble servants. Your word is absolute."

And the realistic blood eyes of her doll glowed mysteriously, producing a chthonic image.

As their daughter stumbled away with Scarecrow, Luciano and Laelia's smiles melted from their faces. The midnight haired man sighed and ran a hand through his hair, frowning in frustration, "This is unfair." Laelia forced a smile and walked over to her husband, patting his head affectionately, "Life's never fair, Luciano. Especially for a SOULdier. You and I know that very well."

Luciano's eyebrows pushed together and his aquamarine eyes narrowed, "I saved you from your fate; so who's going to save Sakura?!" He cried in anguish as he sunk to his knees and took his wife's hand. The metallic rose haired woman continued to smile, caressing his face, "Don't worry. One day, she'll find someone just like you to be her guardian angel." Luciano took off her long sleeved glove, kissing the half-heart shaped tattoo.

Laelia's smile finally faded when she collapsed to the floor in front of him, breaking down in tears. "Why? Luciano? Why must my daughter go through the same painful things, much less, without us? Why?" All her husband did was hug her.

It was clear both knew the black future before them.

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_Dear Mademoiselle,_

_Though we are not gods,_

_We will fulfill your every word,_

_Even if it may be fighting against the gods themselves._

_We will follow your command._

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**/introduction/**

**The prologue to your affliction**

**The advent of your army**

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_The __**voices**__ get __**louder**__._

_**Resounding**__ through my __**head**__._

_**Echoing **__throughout the mansion._

_**Noiseless **__to all but herself._

_Many __**different **__voices._

_They aren't __**threatening **__her or anything of the sort._

_But only one is the __**loudest**__ of all._

_Very __**distinct**__._

So _**piercing**__, _

_And he always had made small comments,_

_Adding tones of sarcasm and distaste,_

_But that one day, he said something else._

"Something's about to happen. Brace yourself."

_**I'm coming for you.**_

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A pink haired angel lied in the grass, covered in petals of white roses. Her eyes were closed, remaining still and breathing gently. Everything around her moved; the clouds, the rose bushes, the doves, everything. But, she seemed to be preserved in her own time. As everything around her moved, she lay motionless, almost dead.

_The voices were quiet today._

She looked like a cross between a marble statue and a porcelain doll; as still, pale, and silent as a statue and as delicate and well dressed as a doll.

"Is something the matter, Lady Sakura?"

Her eyes opened to reveal pretty emerald orbs. A sigh escaped her pale, light pink lips.

"It's almost time."

Scarecrow nodded. He finished his crown of roses, clipping off the thorns with a small pair of gardening scissors. "All done." The silver haired man smiled underneath his mask and held out the white crown to his master before standing up. "Here you go."

Sakura pouted and reluctantly took the item, staring at it. Scarecrow tilted his head to the side and raised a thin eyebrow. "What's the matter?" He asked. "You didn't have to cut off the thorns." She replied, almost stated like a fact. Slowly, she placed it on her head.

"Why, of course I had to." The servant countered as he removed the white glove that covered his right hand. He then picked up another rose, covered in thorns. His pale hand tightened it's grip, letting the blood flow freely from his palm and leaving red trails over his wrist. "You didn't think I'd let a thorn prick your beautiful, pale skin and let this happen, did you?" The girl rolled her eyes, "Stop talking like a pervert, you pedophile." Scarecrow gasped in shocked, "I'll have you know, I'm actually younger than I appear."

The Esmeralda heiress shook her head, picking up her porcelain doll (who appeared to be feasting on sweets and drinking coffee) and holding it close in a tight lock. The butler looked at her and decided to ask, the curiosity to know her ideas burning away his insides, "Why did you want to keep the thorns, m'lady?"

"Well," the said girl began as she stood up, brushing the fallen leaves from her dress, "The thorns are what protect the rose. If you're going to hold such beauty in your hand, you have to be careful or you'll be attacked by her guardians. You just got rid of the rose's beloved knights, you cruel, _cruel _person." He chuckled, "You called me _'cruel' _twice. It must be something very serious." Sakura turned around and huffed.

"Of course it's serious! The thorns love the rose very dearly. Why else do you think they'd be attached to her? They are their for a purpose and one purpose only: to protect her. _Ugh_, and not only are you cruel, you're very rude and simpleminded as well!" She crossed her arms, sighing exasperatedly as she shook her head, "How can you mistreat our guests like that? I apologize." The pink haired girl turned to look at her beautiful white rose bushes, "I'll let him make it up to you. Scarecrow?"

Suddenly, the garden began to rustle, and soon enough, figures quickly emerged through the thorns. They charged towards Sakura, and they were capable of knowing not to let out a battle cry. All they would've accomplished then was alerting anyone nearby and being destroyed.

Though, just cause they didn't yell in an annoying way, doesn't mean they wouldn't meet the same fate if they had.

"Yes, I do apologize. First, let me set the table for your meal." With a flick of his wrists, knives and fork fell out from his sleeves. He jumped into the air, doing a 360 turn and swiftly throwing the kitchen utensils. To no surprise, the intruders fell to the floor with a thud, each having a knife or a fork protruding from a weak point on the head.

Gracefully, he landed on his two feet, keeping himself on his knees in front of his ten year old master.

"Oh my. It seems I messed up, master. Please do excuse the mess." With a sigh, he muttered under his breath, "Maybe there might have been less blood if had my usual kunai…Or not."

Sakura shook her head and turned away, refusing to look at any of her enemies' faces frozen in horror. She still couldn't stand to look a dead person in the eye, and of course, it's understandable with her current age. No one so young should see a corpse, but it was what you call _'normal' _in the ugly world she lived in.

"Come, Ka-…Scarecrow."

The heiress stood up, adjusting her blood-stained red rose.

"Let's go back."

The said servant stood up straight and brushed off the dirt from his vest. Her emerald eyes noticed that his right hand was almost completely healed.

"I'm sorry, Lady Sakura. I messed up the garden."

She shook her head, "No, it's alright. You should stop apologizing. Besides,"

"Red roses are beautiful, aren't they?"

And the Esmeralda turned around to continue walking, ignoring the headache that had been building up for a good two or three minutes. The voices were not chaotic as they usually were, where all were speaking at the same time and talking about different things (for example, imagine an extremely congested shopping avenue with everyone's voice amplified). Instead, they all spoke in unison. She could still hear 'his' clear voice the loudest.

"_Brace yourself."_

_**"We're coming to get you."**_

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_The prologue to affliction_

_The gears begin to turn_

_The clock begins to tick_

_The cards have been dealt._

_It's now the players turn to use the cards correctly_

_In order to win the game._

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The pink haired girl ran up the stairs. He wasn't there. He wasn't there! Where was he, then? How come she couldn't find him? Suddenly, she saw another familiar figure come through the smoke and towards her.

"Scarecrow- No! What I meant was, Kakashi. Please take my parents to safety." Sakura ordered as the harsh wind blew, the flames of her home reaching out for her and ready to pull her in. Kakashi, who was ready to turn around and follow the order, stopped midway in his habit. He carried every single order of hers quickly and without a thought, but he couldn't let this one slide.

"No matter how cliché and romantic this sounds," The silver haired servant couldn't help but make a crooked smile under his mask, "I can't just leave you here."

The pink haired girl laughed, sounding oddly hoarse. "I didn't think little girls were your type…you erotic novel reading pervert." Her pale hands gently removed her white rose crown and placed it on his gloved ones. "Give this to my parents, okay?"

"Sakura, you didn't answer-"

"Go. Don't worry, I'll see you again."

Kakashi bowed in an awkward manner and simply replied, "You better, m'lady." And with that, he dashed off to fulfill his orders. Sakura's emerald eyes continued to watch him until his shadowy figured disappeared behind the smoke. She closed her eyes and gave an innocent smile.

It was too late to search any further.

"Did you know that white roses stand for so many things?" The heiress asked to (what appeared to be) no one, "Such as eternal love, silence, innocence, purity, secrecy…"

"_Honestly, I don't care." _Interrupted a cold yet familiar voice, _"It's such a useless plant."_

Sakura chuckled, feeling a little empty inside. If she could, she'd punch the owner of the voice, but how? It's a voice in her head…Does that mean she'd have to punch herself? "Beep! Wrong. It's far from useless." Her small hands were handcuffed behind her back and a white cloth was tied over her eyes. She continued talking, despite her situation's danger meter was growing larger, "Unlike you, a voice in my head. You're far more useless than what you think of flowers."

"Shut up! Get in the truck!" Yelled a stranger with a large, strong voice. It very different from my father's. This voice belonged to a coward, who would easily change his tone if the scenario was threatening enough. My father's voice was dark, commanding. One that belonged to a leader. She didn't care if her father belonged to the dark world of nobles and did the horrible things he was revered for. He was her father.

But these two voices are different from the one in the her head (or, rather, the loudest and clearest one of many).

This voice seemed dangerous. Something seductive, luring and enticing you in.

Then, as if hearing my thoughts, he spoke.

"_How wrong you are. I'm far from useless."_

She sank into darkness, his voice going unheard. A crack of the whip, and the thumping of horse hooves, the carriage drove off carrying her in a cage.

_Flash!_

Her parents…Were fighting someone. Someone they seemed to know for a very long time.

_Flash!_

Her brother…Her brother? Was he still there? The girl couldn't stand to think about his body, his burnt carcass just lying there in that prison. But, he was much stronger than that. By now, he'd probably have escaped. If he hadn't…

"Brother…" Sakura whispered, her eyes stinging with tears, "…I'm sorry…"

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_The memories are so obscure._

_Someone won't let her remember anything._

_A horrible truth she unconsciously doesn't want to return to._

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But deep inside, she knows what had happened._

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A blur, was all it was.

A big hole, was another adjective for it.

Take a few steps back, remember everything that happened so far to assess the situation. Alas, the memories seemed to be stolen and locked away, only to be returned to when the time was right (or maybe, never at all). Whenever that time was, she didn't know, and at the moment, she didn't care.

Her pale hand was painted red with a metallic smell. She placed it over the center of her chest and touched a sticky liquid. To her surprise, it was painless; the pink haired girl expected some sort of large gash or cut. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the tattered rags she wore were decorated with scarlet splatter.

The voices were, once again, eerily silent, and all she could hear was the sound of someone getting closer. The heels of the letter shoes making noises as it crossed the dirty, marble floor. A dark figure stood over her, staring down at her with ruby red eyes…just like her porcelain doll.

Her beloved porcelain doll given to her by her parents…

…Where was he?

She missed it.

She missed Kakashi.

She missed her brother.

She missed her parents.

"Are you going to lie there all day, or shall we get moving?" The familiar voice said. It didn't seem to be in her head this time. Instead, it was coming from the person in front of her…tall, masculine, dark haired, handsome. Sakura tried to push herself up, but an unbearable pain surged through her stomach. She licked her lips and realized the strong metallic taste in her mouth. She tried to see through her eyelashes to see who it was, but soon gave up and slumped back down.

"Who are you?"

The Esmeralda's curiosity soon withered away, to the point that she didn't care.

Whatever it took to get out of here, to see her parents and Kakashi again, to hug her porcelain doll once more…to return back to her life was what she wanted. Even if it meant having to go with a stranger.

But before succumbing to the midnight black of sleep, she saw him smirk.

"Hn. Who's useless?"

And with that, he wrapped her in a warm blanket and carried her off to an unknown destination.

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**Guardian cloaked in black,**

**Counterpart of an angel,**

**Together, you are one.**

**For you are rose and he is the thorn covered stem**

**These ruby, red eyes look only at you.**

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	2. the flower and the stem

**T**_he_ L**i**_t_tl**e** _V_oi**c**_e_

Standard disclaimer applies.

Due to some issues, I have to reveal more of the plotline than I wanted to.

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**The beautiful flower**

**And the thorn covered stem that supports it.**

**Daring to touch the flower**

**Will only poison you.**

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**/scene one/**

the _**flower**_ and the _**stem**_

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"_Sakura!"_

_She reached through the iron bars to grab his hand, the smoking growing thicker and the flames licking at her feet. "Big brother!" The girl cried out at the sight of his fingers, reaching for them. But, her hand was slapped away and she could hear him say in his usual calm voice, "Go. I'll be fine."_

_**"Go. Don't worry, I'll see you again."**_ Sakura remembered saying it to her silver haired companion, who she never saw again along with her family. Except, her brother hadn't said that they would once see each other once more.

_Before she knew it, her view changed to her rose garden and her porcelain doll, which sat where it normally did on the outdoor chair._

"Wake up, master."

"Shut up!"

"That's not the way noble's speak."

"Fine! Go die."

"…That wasn't better than the last."

The pink haired girl opened her emerald green eyes to stare deeply into endless, black ones. His pale, handsome face was only a centimeter away. The nostalgic white rose garden she remembered quickly burnt to ash and was swept away by the wind. Of course, she had to admit that his beauty surpassed the oasis in her broken memories.

"It's time to get dressed."

Wearing an oversized, button up shirt, she sat up and squinted under the morning light. She hissed angrily and waved her arms around, causing her large sleeves to make flapping noises. The older boy smirked and commented,

"Are you trying to fly away?" He walked over to the curtains and closed them a little, "Unfortunately, that's not going to work my lady. There's this thing called gravity and…"

"I know what gravity is, Sasuke." Sakura interrupted as she frowned, "So, please, stop talking to me like I'm an idiot." She hated it when someone challenged her intelligence, much like someone else she knew. It was easy to tell that he was biting himself from making another comment.

Sasuke gracefully walked over to her and gently pulled the velvet red sheets. Then, he tenderly picked her up and placed her upright to stand on the plush stool. "We have a lot to do today." His said in a suave voice as he unbuttoned her white shirt. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, groaning in frustration, "How big is a lot?"

A mysterious smile spread across his lips. Sasuke slowly leaned down to undo the last button with his teeth, caressing and kissing her stomach. "A large amount, master." He whispered low and temptingly as he eased her shirt over her shoulders, letting it drop softly onto the floor. Sakura narrowed her eyes, her face turning a bright red and her mouth curving into a cute pout.

"Stop teasing. I have no time for your badinage." She grumbled, clearly embarrassed as she shoved him off, "Must we go through this sexual harassment every day? I'm not even close to being of legal age yet, so does that make you a pedophile as well?" Sasuke grunted as he picked up the first garment of the prepared outfit. "I fail to see why not, and to your question, I disagree." Came his (smug) reply as he continued to dress her.

"M-Mistress!"

"Come in, Hinata." Sakura called out as she held out her arms, letting her butler put the sleeves of her grey, uncomfortable-looking (though, it was actually quite the opposite) Lolita dress. When the door clicked and the knob began to turn, Sasuke encircled his arms around her legs (he was kneeling while she was on the chair, so the tip of his head reached her chin) and buried his head into her stomach.

"U-uhm, Lady Sakura, I-" The shy maid gasped, flinching as she took a step back, "O-Oh my! Am I interrupting something?"

"What the?! No, not at all, Hinata. Everything's fine-" Sakura tried to push his head away, but his grip was too strong on her. She could see her female servant's face heat up. "Get off! At least put the rest of my clothes on!"

Hinata giggled as she shook her head, "N-No, it's okay, Mistress. I'll tell you later. I-It's not that important, anyway." The maid bowed and quickly exiting the room, gently closing the oak door behind her. After her flustered footing finally eased into silence, Sakura thrashed around in hopes of shaking off her butler.

"Why'd you do that!? She misunderstood!"

Before she could inflict any pain, he let go. She gaped at his expression: a smug smirk.

"Wipe that look off your face, you sadistic…"

Sasuke stood up from his kneeling position and brushed off his black clothes. He dismissed her angry comments, picked her up from the stool and placed her on the carpet covered floor. After making sure both his and his mistress's appearances were neat and perfect, the butler pushed and held open the bedroom door.

"Master wasn't much of a morning person, hm?"

Sakura exited the room, but before he did, his onyx eyes darted to the window. He caught sight of a white feather falling softly. Walking over, he swiftly grabbed it before it went down any further. In calm anger, he said,

"An omen of a someone's unwanted arrival."

Then, Sasuke crushed the quill in his hand.

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**I not only act as the stem that supports you,**

**I act as the thorns as well.**

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Though, an enemy cannot simply cut me off.**

**It'll take more than that to remove me from my position**

**Of protecting the flower.**

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"Here." Sasuke stated as he placed the delicious looking (and smelling) dish in front of Sakura. "The first course meal. Enjoy your breakfast." He bowed, taking a few steps back to his rightful place beside her. She stared at him, her eyes narrowing at his blank expression: he could fool everyone else with his cool behavior, but not her.

Sakura sighed then picked up a vanilla scone, taking a bite of it. She didn't forget her manners and asked her maid after swallowing the food down. "What was it that you wanted to tell me, Hinata?" The said girl jumped, suddenly remembering, "Oh yes!" Hinata scurried out of the room, but came back just as quick with an envelope in her hand. She ran up to Sakura, bowed, and held out the envelope.

Sasuke could easily guess what was going to happen next.

"I-It's a message from Master _Naruto_, m'lady."

Sakura nodded as Sasuke took the letter from the maid's hands. He pulled out a small knife out of his sleeve to open it, then handed the message to his mistress. She carefully unraveled the paper and skimmed it over multiple times before emitting another sigh.

"Another troublesome thing is running our way." Leaning back, Sakura threw it over her shoulder and began pinching the bridge of her nose. "The stupid idiot…" The butler caught the piece of paper before it even had a chance to flutter away.

"What is the problem?" Sasuke raised a thin eyebrow as he glanced down at the message. Though he showed curiosity, in actuality, he knew and it was confirmed with her silent complaints.

The girl gave a frightening and strained yell, causing her female servant to jump three feet into the air and her male one to stare expectantly. "Nothing. Never mind. Just make sure that tomorrow's schedule is completely free, okay?" Sakura ordered before quickly finishing her food and exiting the room in a hurry. She left Hinata and Sasuke to clean up.

An silence dawned the two servants. Sasuke didn't have anything to say and usually said nothing if it was anyone but Sakura or Naruto. Hinata, meanwhile, was too shy to talk to anyone, especially Naruto, with the exception of Sakura. Actually, they never had exchanged words, but the two did share a common fondness of their female master.

"Mistress Sakura really cares about Master Naruto, huh…" Hinata mumbled as she picked up the dishes and forks. Sasuke watched the delicate china stacking up to a scary height.

"I'd prefer it if you'd let me bring the dishes…" His onyx eyes watched the stack of plates warily. The tower was teetering dangerously back and forth. The dark haired girl shook her head furiously and denied, "N-No, Uchiha-san, I want to clean up the d-dishes. It's the least I could do for Lady Sakura. Please." She pushed up her glasses and continued building it up at an alarming rate.

"…at least start with a smaller pile and carry that to the kitchen." Sasuke suggested as he continued to have his eyes glued at the glass. If any of those china were broken or scratched, Sakura would ignore all of them for a week. Anytime she was upset, she'd ignore anyone and everyone, keeping herself occupied with as much as work as possible and talking to anyone with the least amount of words or replies. Last time Sasuke upset her, she ignored him every day, and because she was used to being dressed by him, her outfit would be very sloppy and out of place. He inwardly snorted, trying to contain his laughter.

"A-ah, I see. Th-That's a good ide….a?" All hell broke loose when Hinata had taken a step towards the table and lost her footing, causing all the fragile items to fly into the air. Sasuke held out his hands, catching all the plates and forming a neat, tall stack of them on each hand.

"As I said before, I'd prefer it that I took care of the dishes."

The timid girl flinched and looked down, "I failed Lady Sakura, again…" She gave a sorrowful sigh but shook it off and stood up determinedly. "N-no! I'll t-try again and again if I have to, just s-so I can be useful to Mistress!"

With that, the raven haired man held out one pile, allowing her to take half of it. "Like I said earlier: Start out with a small pile." He spun around on the heel of his leather shoes and began walking towards the oak doors. Just before he left, he turned around and suggested,

"Oh. And hold them with both hands. The very last thing we want to do is upset her."

The door closed with a soft click. After a few moments of silence, Hinata to raise a thin eyebrow.

"W-well, I h-have to admit…he d-dodged the subject ah-about M-Mistress Sakura and Master Na-Naruto quite easily…" She picked up the dishes with one hand and tilted her head to the side, "I w-wonder what's uncomfortable a-about the matter." Giggling to herself, she thought of Sakura sitting on a throne and Sasuke standing loyally beside her, "He's probably jealous- Ack!" Hinata nearly dropped the dishes, but with the quick movements of the phalange bones in her feet, she caught them all with an ease. Appearances of clumsiness may be deceiving.

The said man, who happened to still be standing outside the hallway when she made the comment, snorted in irritation. He walked away quietly and grumbled under his breath,

"Of course not. I just don't feel like dealing with that idiotic angel right now."

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**An angel.**

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A devil.**

**Though both are opposites, both care for their master.**

**Unfortunately, that's the only thing they have in common.**

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"What do you want to do today?" Sasuke asked the pink haired girl who sat in the carriage. "After work, we can go shopping, if you'd like." He suggested as he steered the black horses down the street. His pale ear caught the quiet laughs coming from behind. "What are you laughing at." Sasuke didn't ask; he demanded to know.

"You're being a bit too warm today. An adequate amount of words are coming out of your mouth, which is odd for someone like you. Where's the moody sadist that I know?" Sakura asked with a grin.

The man could feel the smirk on the young girl's face, much too similar to his own. He could feel the same trademark expression spread across his own lips.

"Well, I was just a bit curious about that letter."

"You poked your little nose into the message, didn't you." Came the accurate accusation from the usually accurate girl.

"I just happened to see it on the floor." Came an innocent reply from a not-so-innocent butler.

"Don't lie to me." Sakura smiled, her voice playful yet her face obviously painted with anger. She began to crack her knuckles.

"I don't lie, Master," Sasuke replied as he tried to hide the haughty tone in his voice, "I did happen to see it on the floor, pick it up, and read it. I never planned on giving such details, but I can never lie to you." He adjusted his black top hat.

"Really, now?"

"Of course. I'd never lie to you, Lady Sakura." The butler pulled the horses to a stop and gracefully stepped off. He opened the door and held out his hand for her to take.

"Never."

His voice held no sarcasm or secrecy whatsoever, but his beautiful face could say otherwise.

Sakura looked at him in the eye from her red, plush seats. She took his gloved hand tightly, but Sasuke could feel her grip loosen almost immediately. Her emerald eyes looked up at the shop, causing her to laugh.

"How'd you know I felt like seeing flowers?" She asked as she pulled a gold key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. Sasuke shrugged as he pushed and held open the smooth, jade green door for her. With a snap of his fingers, the white lace curtains were pushed open to let sunlight into the room. Flowers shimmered as if it was their after-rain glow. Obviously, they were well taken care of.

"I didn't. But, I'm sure many of your regulars have been waiting for you to come back from your little vacation." Sasuke commented as he began fixing the place up; straightening out the flowers, quickly arranging small bouquets, etc. "Besides, this is both perfect opportunity to practice your flower arrangement and gain a good amount of money." Always the one who looks for the most beneficial paths.

Sakura pouted and stomped towards the back area, retorting, "We don't need money, and you know that very well. I wish we could take a break for studies once in a while." In reply, he had nothing to say to her first accusation, but about her studies, she got a stern _'Of course not.'_

"In case you didn't notice," Sasuke continued as he began wrapping the bouquet in clear plastic, "my main purpose on coming here was stress relief. You've been overworking a bit more than usual." The _'over-worked girl'_, who was examining all the different kinds of wrapping paper and ribbons, replied, "I didn't expect you to notice." Her tone was bordering on sarcastic. Sakura shivered and commented, "I don't like this 'caring' Sasuke."

The sound of a bell rang throughout the store.

The raven haired servant made no move to greet the customer as he continued to make more mini bouquets. Sakura gave a sigh as she took hold of the red ribbon and tugged, letting the decorative item pool onto to the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at her pinky.

"It seems a princess has run away from home yet again." She grumbled under her breath in irritation. Honestly, this person of royalty never ceases to poke her nose in trouble. What would the kingdom do if something suddenly happened to their next Queen?

"Um…Hello~? _Excuse _me."

Rang out the voice of the said girl.

A blonde (probably one or two years older than Sakura) stood in front of the store, looking around. Her grey cloak covered her platinum blonde hair and barely concealed her sky blue eyes. She wore an expensive looking light green dress, and it was definitely clear she was trying to hide it with the cape.

"Ah!"

The girl walked straight and quickly towards Sakura, who had caught the blonde's glance at her butler. Sasuke, though, didn't seem to care much as he began picking flowers for his next bouquet. He looked up for a second then quietly snapped his fingers, the effect being that all the red ribbon she made a mess with get pulled back into the roll.

"E-excuse me, Ms. Sakura, I need a bouquet."

Sakura laughed politely as she leaned on the desk, tilting her head to the side, "Of course. It's what half of my customers want when they step in here. What else would you need? A cake?" Among other things, she thought quietly to herself while sending Sasuke a look. All the boy did was appear angelic.

"Y-yeah…" And right on cue, the customer sent him a look. "Anyway, t-the bouquet is for my mother…she's quite ill, so…"

The Esmeralda nodded absentmindedly, whether it was because of jealousy (which she declines violently) or because she really didn't care was unknown. She then turned around and exited the room, despite the fact her customer was still talking.

"…Uhm…Okay, I'll wait here." The elegantly dressed princess trailed off and returned to sending glances to Sasuke, which bounced off his invisible stoic barrier.

Sakura quickly returned, holding a clear vase that contained water and yarrow. Tied around the small bouquet of yarrow was a white ribbon. She placed it on the counter and pushed it towards her customer.

"Here is what you call yarrow, princess." Sakura began explaining in a straight-A-student voice, "In one culture, it is known to symbolize health and healing. Though it's a rare case, it sometimes causes severe allergic skin rashes, so if you don't want to take the chance of getting one, be careful about touching it." The blonde girl did seem to care about her appearance, but Sakura tried not to judge. She continued, "Anyway, do you see the white ribbon? Do not remove it UNLESS your mother's condition has worsened to being on the brink of death. If you remove it for any situation other then that, the chances for you mother's recovery will lower. Questions?"

Her customer shook her head, seeming to make the mental note most important. With a friendly smile, she glanced once more at Sasuke and then quickly exited the store. Sakura let out a sigh as if she had been holding it in this whole time.

"Seems like the Fates are messing with me…But, it's normal for the threads of SOULdiers to be tangled with each other." She grumbled under her breath as she looked up. Her eyes seemed to be looking right through the sealing and into the sky. The girl shook her fist angrily, "The stupid…I can hear him laughing at me now! She better do something about it." Both could've sworn he heard a loud _'thunk' _followed by an irritated sigh, but said nothing.

The entrance bell rang once more.

"Ah. " Sakura coughed and regained her composure, while Sasuke grunted in amusement.

"Welcome."

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**The Fates;**

**The one who spins your thread of life.**

**  
The one who measures your thread of life.**

**The one who cuts your thread of life.**

**The threads of SOULdiers are knotted**

**Not entwined neatly.**

**They do not sit there and try to untangle this mess.**

**Instead, they get rid of it altogether.**

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"You idiot!" Tsunade yelled angrily as she stomped the fallen Jiraiya's face. The white haired hermit groaned in agony as he tried to deflect her hits, "Stop it! Ow! That's unfair! You can't favor that SOULdier's thread out of all the other threads! Ow! That's REALLY unfair! Ow!" The woman continued to kick him, "I'm not favoring hers! You better stop tangling her thread and Ino's thread JUST because you're hoping to see a cat fight, you hopeless TWIT." Meanwhile, Orochimaru sat quietly with his scissors and doing his work.

Tsunade, the goddess of fate who spun thread and created life.

Jiraiya, the god of fate who measure thread, deciding how long one would live and what would happen in that life.

Orochimaru, the god of fate who cut thread, deciding when it was time for someone to perish.

"Stop your bickering." The snake man hissed, snipping a life string, "Their string is spun differently than others, without Tsunade's accord. And you, Jiraiya, can't decide what will happen during their lifetime, but enough things are happening, so quit it." Orochimaru dropped the thread.

"I, myself, cannot decide their death, either. Their strings snap on their own."

What are SOULdiers?

Supernatural beings that collect souls and influence everyone and anyone, positively or negatively. They work to change the world, either to pollute or purge it is up to them. Some work they do? Ah, they could do anything they want as long as they collect souls. They have free will and free minds, but usually act as puppets without strings.

They walk a path filled with death, sorrow, and tragedy. At the end of their path? A violent annihilation. Always consumed by darkness, eventually. No matter how much they are admired or feared, and no matter how much they influenced the world; it was worthless.

Each SOULdier is unique, having different servants and influencing the world differently.

Who is Sakura?

A SOULdier.

Who is Sasuke?

He says: A mere servant who will change his master's fate.

One way or another.

"Are you finished shopping, yet?" The _'mere servant' _asked as he carried the huge load of boxes effortlessly. Despite doing so, his tone seemed to hint at impatience. Sakura smiled innocently and shook her head, "Of course not." She had said this with the face of an angel but the voice of a dangerous devil.

Sasuke politely held in his sigh as he continued to follow her around. Despite his inward complaints, he felt a little light inside to see her having a day off. Besides, splurging once in a while couldn't hurt. An endless supply of money (the green paper was easy to get with someone like him around) and the rare occasions of going out combined to create a shopping day. He blinked, and she was pressed against a shop window again.

His onyx eyes rolled when he caught sight of a silver necklace with a black rose ornament, but then narrowed when he saw something in the reflection of the window. He wasn't talking about Sakura or himself, or any normal person by the matter. Sasuke quickly remember his face before the stranger disappeared into an alley.

"Master-" Sasuke started but cut himself off when she had run into the store to take a closer look at the piece of jewelry. This time, the butler couldn't hold in his sigh. Honestly, she had more energy than that blonde dead least. He reluctantly followed her inside, not caring much for all the expensive necklaces and rings incased around him. An elderly man chuckled as he saw Sasuke walking his way.

"Oh, is this your husband? What a handsome, young fellow he is." The shop owner smiled sincerely. Sasuke bowed and smiled back politely, while Sakura blushed and shook her head. "Ah! N-No, he's not…" She began to deny, but the shop owner continued to smile.

"A butler and noblewoman you may be, but love is love, is it not?"

Love, huh?

Sakura looked up. _Love? _Love. Do SOULdiers know love? Is love capable of being on the SOULdier's road called life? Ah, she was being uncharacteristically dark; that was _Sasuke's_ job! She giggled, "Yes, love is love no matter who you are, but he's still not my husband." Sasuke remained silent, wearing a mysterious expression: a frown bordering on a smile? Or was it a smile bordering on a frown?

The older man disappeared in the backroom and came out holding four special looking boxes. "Here, I'll give this to you. No need to take out your money! It's free." He placed them in front of her and grinned, "This one will be perfect for you. You can choose who to give the other three to." Sakura opened the box the elder had pointed out, taking out a black pearl necklace accessorized with a white rose. She gasped out and let out a squeal, unaware of her transition from her haughty persona to her girly one.

"Thank you so much, Mr…"

"Sarutobi."

"Thanks, Mr. Sarutobi. I visit you again, soon!" Sakura bowed and quickly exited the store to her bags, carefully putting the jewelry in one. Sasuke could hear her complaining about him leaving her things outside, and what would he have done if her stuff is stolen. He was ready to follow when he was stopped by Sarutobi's comment,

"To think they have SOULdiers this young is such a sad thing."

Sasuke paused mid-step and turned around to look him in the eye. Now he understood the source of the odd energy he felt his man was strong and powerful. He was not of bad or of neutral party, but is definitely good. And he knew much more than the butler knew he did.

The raven haired boy said nothing and continued to look (maybe even glare) at Sarutobi, who chuckled in reply.

"Do not worry; I'm definitely on your side." He laughed, his words oddly reassuring, "I support you in your goal one hundred percent. You'll thank me later for gifting those necklaces to her." Sarutobi gave a smile that held both wisdom and mystery.

"So you and Naruto better take care of her, alright?"

Sasuke left the store feeling odd; was it relief? Was it anger? Was it curiosity? Whatever. He needed no emotions when it came to people other than her, so…Where was she anyway?

Looking around, he saw nothing but her bags and boxes of bought items.

Damn, he can feel the hammer starting to pound on her head.

"That idiot…" With swift movement, he had pulled a silver pocket watch engraved with the Esmeralda family crest from his pocket. _Click! _And it opened, ticking annoyingly for him as it showed the time he didn't want to read. Sasuke sighed exasperatedly and closed the item with a flick of his wrist.

"I hate it when someone messes up the schedule."

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**Oh my! Did you try to try to touch the flower?**

Did the thorns prick your fingers?

**That's too bad.**

**I guess you're going to have to die soon.**

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"…You're stupid, aren't you?"

"Shut up! Don't insult me!"

Sakura was smacked, causing her to fall unto the floor with a loud thud. She rolled her eyes and spit out the blood that came with the bruise. "And that proves me right- _UMPH_!" The kidnapper hissed in annoyance and kicked her stomach, "I said, SHUT _UP_!"

The kidnapped chuckled and sneered, "You're a coward, too. Acting like you're a big boss, yet kicking someone when they're down and their hands are tied. You obviously fear me; it shows in your eyes."

With one more kick, she decided to stay quiet. No use getting bruises just because of stating facts. She could see that the stranger had grown an ego, thinking he had finally scared her. Closing her eyes, she decided to feign a nap and listen in on his plan.

"I guess I knocked the little girly out." The man grunted and brushed off his shoulders. Sakura could hear him walking away and relaxed a little; let him keep believing what he wanted to believe. You never want to break a child's fantasies.

"Uhm, sir. Who is this person, anyway, Mr. Mizuki?" His assistant coughed uncomfortably as he looked at the pink haired girl. "If you disregard her age, she looks like a high-ranking person." Mizuki retorted, "A high-ranking person, indeed! She's the Avenging Angel."

The underling gasped and was suddenly overtaken by fear. "T-The _Avenging Angel_? The one who's said to reek of death and sees through all, even to the depths of your soul? I-It's said that all of her red clothes were white…once upon a time." He stopped, "But, what did she do that made you do this, Mr. Mizuki?"

Mizuki frowned and smacked a nearby vase, causing it to shatter on the floor. "Nothing. It was what her fiancé did that sent me to ruin!" He began to bite the nail on his thumb, "That blonde brat embarrassed me in front of so many other nobles, and after the incident, no one dared to have any association with me. This is my revenge!"

The pink haired girl grit her teeth. This was that idiot Naruto's fault?! When he comes, she swore- Even if he was her guardian angel, she's going to kick him into the next dimension over! And this idiot Mizuki!? How was this revenge?! It wasn't even well thought out!

The underling eyes widened, "L-Lord Naruto? But, I h-heard many things about this girl, Mr. Mizuki. They say she was the black sheep of angels, and was forced to live on earth as the grim reaper."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Wow, this was the first time she had heard rumors about herself. Was she _this _feared? Probably. Like a plague. She guessed, in public, many probably didn't realize this cute girl was the Avenging Angel. She inwardly giggled at her ego.

"A-Ah…B-but, also…" The underling started as he glanced at the said man with sudden nervousness, "Th-They say…she has a scythe th-that takes shape of a man, who is with her at all t-times…Did you by any chance see him?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly, "Yes, but I was smart enough to kidnap her while he was in the store."

"Actually, kidnapping her in the _first place _isn't very smart at all."

Mizuki flinched and turned his head towards entrance to see his glass doors shatter into millions of pieces. His other companions quickly came out from different places, aiming their guns at the intruder. The black shadow walked calmly towards them, its footsteps echoing throughout the hall. The room's temperature suddenly dropped, and the enemies felt as if someone was crushing their insides. Sakura could see their guns shaking through her eyelashes:

So her knight has arrived.

"All this kidnapping nonsense always seems to be Naruto's fault, one way or another. I'll have to slaughter that dobe next time he comes." Sasuke sighed in annoyance as he took off his gloves, causing the gunners to raise their guard. Mizuki laughed manically as he picked up the _'Avenging Angel' _by her pink locks.

"So, are you the scythe he was talking about?" The light haired man demanded, tugging her hair with every word. A smirk spread across the butler's lips, and said in a voice dripping with danger,

"I guess that's one way to describe me. More specifically, I'm the thorn-covered stem that supports the pretty flower you're holding so improperly." He seemed to be stretching as he continued walking towards them, "When handling a flower, you have to hold her delicately or a thorn like me might have to slice your fingers off. Maybe even more."

Sakura grinned, the corners of her mouth smudged with dry blood as she greeted her butler, "Why did you take so long?" Mizuki flinched back but quickly covered it up with feigned an air of arrogance, "Ha! I'd like to see you try taking another step with all these machine guns pointed at you."

Sasuke snorted, obviously not caring. "Machine guns? Why pick such a well known gun? There are a good amount of other guns out there that are more sufficient. Were you to lazy to research any? How unintelligent." He shoved his pale hands into his pockets and continued walking, slowly and agonizingly.

The white haired man could no longer take it. With a motion of his free hand, his underlings opened fire on the knowing butler, who then fell to the floor lifelessly. Sakura did not cry out.

"Look at your loyal servant now; he's like Swiss cheese." Mizuki cackled, yet underneath it all, he was panicking. He continued on, hoping to soothe his fears rather than torture his captive, "You're nothing without him, are you? Nothing!" He threw the pink haired girl across the room by the hair, her own body crashing against the marble floor.

…

…

"…Please…get up."

Through gritted teeth, Sakura hissed in annoyance at the raven haired man. Her body was quickly overcome with lethargy due to lack of sleep. _'Always at the worst of times…' _She thought as she looked at Sasuke's black clad figure that lied a few feet away from her.

This was stupid. Even though he was faking it, she still couldn't stand someone dying in front of her eyes. Sasuke was unfortunately good at acting.

An image of her brother's body appeared in her mind, and his voice calling for her name.

"Stop it! Don't fooling around! GET UP!"

Mizuki's eyebrows scrunched as he grinned with sudden overconfidence, "What? Are you serious? Telling a dead person to get up?" He chuckled and shrugged, "It's useless." Tears poured Sakura's cheeks.

Suddenly, everyone froze.

Her butler was a real bastard.

His body shifted, moved, and got up. Sasuke sighed as he held out his coat, wearing a face of repressed animosity. His voice grew more dangerous before, and his eyes glowed with an eerie blood color. The sclera of his eye turned from the normal white to a pitch black, outlining his crimson irises. Black, swirled tattoos wrapped around his face and body, making a transition from a pale white to a dark grey.

"Fine. No more fooling around."

He flexed his new claws and a smile spread across his ebony lips.

"Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked, as if naïve. "Hn. Whatever." He pulled out the black case and unsheathed the Kusanagi. The bright reflection would be the last thing these people see.

A ghostly silence engulfed the whole area, but it was soon broken by an amount of ear splitting screams.

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**Without a stem, the flower's equipoise is disturbed.**

**A rose can no longer support herself without a stem,**

**And soon withers and dies.**

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"Haha, you talked about holding a flower _'the right way'_. You're the last person I'd expect to talk about it!"

"Be quiet. We're going to be late for dinner." Sasuke grunted as he placed all the purchased goods for the day into the carriage. Standing outside, Sakura watched him work with slight amusement. It wasn't long before he started getting annoyed by her stares and told her to the look the other way.

"The knights came to deal with the problem before it escalated into my kidnapping, but they seemed to have come a little late." She said as she changed her view from the butler to the said armor clad every-day heroes. "Nowadays, they aren't really needed unless there's a war, or on smaller cases, a riot. Actually, they're also around when some important person's in town. Seeing them is pretty cool." The pink haired girl caught a little boy running over to a red paladin, who crouched down to his height and rubbed his head.

"Which would you rather have, a butler or a knight?" Sasuke asked with a curious smile. He was loading that last packages up onto their ride. Sakura smiled at pat his head, causing him to growl in annoyance. She replied, "I'd rather have you. You're a butler, a knight, and pretty much anything else." With a satisfied smirk, he stood up and brushed off his pants.

"Aaah, we have to buy a new coat since this one was ruined." Sasuke continued; she remembered that he had been shot down by machine guns, so obviously his clothes were ruined. He had changed to spare clothes he had brought from hell, which made him look like he was from a higher class. Sasuke noticed that she was staring again and feigned sarcasm, "After all, it was from hell, so nothing can really replace it. I'll just have you pick one for me" Sakura blushed and coughed, hiding her face, retorting,

"Yeah, well, don't be surprised if it's pink- AH! Wait!"

She quickly pulled out something from her pocket. It was one of the necklaces, which she seemed to have been removed from the box. He guess she was going to give it earlier, but was then…kidnapped.

"Here." Sakura went behind him and put the necklace on; it had a silver chain and a black rose. He wasn't that much taller than her, so it was easy to reach. She then went back in front of him and gave a satisfied smile.

Sasuke touched the necklace, then smirked and opened the door, "Let's get going. The schedule left for the day has been slaughtered, so we at least quickly go home, eat, and sleep." The raven haired man grumbled under his breath as he held out his hand for her to take. Just as she was about to enter the carriage, she was soon stopped by someone's call:

"Excuse me!"

The same red knight from before ran up to them, causing Sasuke to reflexively step in front of his master. The stranger stared at him for a few seconds and then laughed sheepishly, "Oh, yeah, you probably can't recognize me with all this armor on." As the person removed his/her helmet, the voice sounded less masculine. Sakura could feel her pinky become numb, and she soon realized what was happening. With no surprise, the helmet came off to reveal a brunette wearing two buns.

Tenten,

the Spade SOULdier.

Recalling the rumor of her own clothes being dyed red, this strong woman's armor wasn't painted with crimson paint. Sakura knows for a fact that the iron was still covered in the blood it had been tainted with from many battles.

"It's good to see you again, Sakura." Tenten said as she held up her hand. The pink haired girl forced a smile as she removed her gloves and showed the half-heart tattoo that was exactly the same as her mothers. Two SOULdiers encountered in one day.

"_This is fate. Accept that."_

Sakura's eyes widened when the voices she had desperately tried to ignore made outbursts, shouting over and over again. Another servant was coming, really soon.

To be continued…

**A/N: I just realized something. NO. TENTEN IS NOT MADEM RED.**

GODDAMMIT. Now it's obvious who the next servant is.

**If you're still unsatisfied, we will rewrite it as many times as you want.**


	3. smile of an angel

The Little Voice

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

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**/scene two/**

**smile** of an **angel**

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**A grin that seemed to soothe all who look at it.**

**Seeing it**

**Bring a smile to my own face**

**And relief into my heart.**

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"So, you became a knight."

The clock struck eight o' clock, it's loud ringing resounding through Sakura's ears.

"Yes." Tenten grinned with accomplishment, "The first lady knight in history, and the youngest to be one at all!" She laughed as she patted herself on the back. "It was hard work, but it was worth it. It's nice to see kids who still admire knights at this time and age."

"Especially with that new breed of assassins." Sakura nodded, "I'm sure you can handle them, though, since you not only specialize in lances and spears, but with other weapons as well." The pink haired girl smiled and said the title, "The Weapon Mistress!"

The knight blushed, "Oh, stop it."

An owl _'who-hoo'_ed outside, it's gold eyes shining through the darkness. The trees rustled, their branches tapping against the glass of the windows.

"To serious business," Tenten continued with her brown eyes lowered, "Nasty rumors of you are spreading across the streets. Have you by any chance heard…"

"I caught the gist of it while I was kidnapped, and I was pretty surprised!" Sakura forced a sad chuckle, "Hehe. Yeah, I wasn't sure whether or not to be happy I'm feared or sad that I'm being unconsciously outcasted, even if they do not know what the _'Avenging Angel' _looks like."

Tenten frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "Sakura-"

"I'm fine. Besides, as long as few know of my appearance, I'll be able to live a normal life, or…" The pink haired girl scratched her cheek sheepishly, sticking her tongue out, "Well, as normal as SOULdiers can get." Her guest said nothing in reply, leaving an eerie silence. It felt as if the ticking noises that came from the grandfather clock got louder.

"I found an interesting book."

Sakura looked up with a questioning gaze.

"It involves the SOULdiers." Tenten began explaining, but soon wavered because of her doubt on Sakura wanting to hear about the matter, "Well…the five at this current time." The Esmeralda nodded slowly and began listing them off,

"You, Ino, me, and my brother. That's all I know right now, so that leaves one more yet to be discovered."

Tenten nodded, her mouth in a thin line. "Yes. The book is a fairytale that may seem to be for children," Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she clutched the tea cup with anger, "But it is not. It tells a story of a magical world called Deathland."

"Nice name. Sounds like somewhere I'd like to have a picnic at." Sakura commented sarcastically, taking a bite of a cookie. The brunette tried to laugh, but could only do so weekly, "Yeah…It really sounds like a nice place. What's eerie, though, is it talks about our symbols." Tenten held up her hand, showing the spade tattoo, causing the pink haired girl to look at her own. But, the red clad girl continued,

"And what's weirder is that the pictures of the characters look just like us."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What? There's no way."

"Yes. This book was made over a thousand years ago, so there's now way the author saw our faces." Tenten explained as she put down the cup before she'd accidentally break it. "And the story tells about each SOULdiers death, but…They had given us a different name at the time."

"Atrum Lux Lucis, which means 'Dark Light' in Latin." The red paladin sighed and seemed to be forcing the words out of her throat, "This…this might be the key to saving our lives." Sakura stared at her friend, examining her expression as she said this,

"I know you're brave, Tenten. But, are you brave enough to face the Fates?"

Tenten smiled sadly. What she was brave enough to do was admit,

"No. I can't."

Outside of the room, Sasuke stood with his back against the oak doors, holding a plate of even more tea and sweets.

Honestly, he's been eavesdropping on many people today.

Before he knows it, it'll develop into a bad habit.

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**Bravery**

**Is something special everyone has**

**That you have to reach inside yourself to get.**

**Some small actions though**

**Appear to be the most courageous things to me.**

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Sakura covered her head with the plush red comforter, closing her eyes in an attempt to fall into slumber. Unfortunately, she couldn't. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Sakura could see candlelight through the covers.

"Can't sleep?" Came Sasuke's voice.

"No." Came Sakura's muffled reply. She pulled the blanket off her face to see Sasuke's own illuminated by the small fire.

He walked over to her casually, placed the candle on the nightstand, and sat down on the bed, causing the weight to shift. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, so she did.

"Tenten told me about a book."

"Aa."

"It was about a place called Deathland."

"I know that story."

Sakura sat up, eyes wide and surprised. "What?! Really? What's it about?" She asked as she looked at her servant, who didn't return her stare. But, he replied nonetheless,

"I don't remember much, my parents told me it once before."

Sasuke glanced at her to see that she was leaning in closely. If he stopped, she'd start throwing things at him or maybe even cry. With no choice but to continue, he did.

"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Deathland-"

"Stop saying it in a monotonous way. Say it like you're reading me a bedtime story." Sakura jokingly demanded. The raven haired boy scoffed and retorted, "You're lucky I'm even bothering to tell you the story."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Go on."

"Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Deathland. It was a wonderful place with the nicest and kindest people and the most mythical creatures and the most beautiful flowers. No one knew why it was called Deathland, but that's what its name was."

"A woman cloaked in red was the guardian of this town, protecting it from the evils that reached from the corners of the world. Because there was no one to rule, the people decided her as the leader. She proved to be a strong, courageous one who trained warriors of every kind."

Sasuke glanced at his master's expression.

"One day on the battlefield, she sliced down every enemy that came her way. But as more blood splattered and stained in her face, clothes, and hands, the more her eyes and smile grew with insanity. After every enemy was slain, she even slaughtered her own comrades."

"The townspeople had best interests for her and captured her, carrying her into the depths of a place they called _'The Forest of No Return'_. It was the place prisoners were sent to be dragged into the darkness, and thus never to be seen again. No one has ever escaped."

"As she clutched the iron bars, her last words were, 'It's fine. I deserve this. Thank you for putting me out of my misery.' And with that, the hands of sinners pulled her downs. She didn't scream, and the people who had looked up to her so much brought their lowered heads up and saluted her one last time as leader before she was pulled away."

He sighed. "It's not a happy story. There's no good ending. Not a very good thing to read kids to sleep with-" Sasuke turned around to look at Sakura, a little bit shocked to see her sleeping. He stood up and blew out the candle. Looking at her one last time, he left the room as quietly as he could.

Finally, Sakura let go of her tears, clutching onto her sheets and sobbing silently.

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

**A place called Deathland.**

**At a place with a name like that,**

**Is it where people are freed from a thing call life?**

**Though life may appear to be a burden,**

**It's actually a privilege.**

**Unfortunately, SOULdiers must carry on no matter how heavy their back gets.**

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

"I'm here!"

"A-ah! Ma-Master Naruto!" Hinata shrieked as she dropped the pail of dirty water. She gasped and sadly remarked, "O-oh no…I just mopped a-and e-everything…" Her pearl eyes darted nervously between the floor and the blonde man who stood in the doorway. "Uh…Uhm…"

"You imbecile."

Both turned to see Sasuke standing on the top of the stairs, arms crossed and wearing a twitching smile.

"Why are you here at eight in the morning…" The facade quickly melted off into a clearly angry face, "Are you an IDIOT?" He stopped and sighed exasperatedly, "Oh, yes, that's right. You are."

Naruto growled and pointed at his arch nemesis, "Shut up! I was so excited to see Sakura-chan, so I came as soon as I can!" The raven haired man shook his head, "You really are stupid. Why come at a time when she's not even awake yet?"

"…You have a point."

The two quickly went into a private room while Hinata resumed washing the floors. The tension followed them, settling into the room. They sat across from each other, refusing to meet each others stare. It went on quiet for a while, but Naruto broke the silence since Sasuke didn't have much of a reason to,

"How is she?"

"You should know. You're her guardian angel." Was the calm response. Sasuke knew he was being childish, but it didn't matter. This man was just as childish as he was. "And besides, I know you didn't arrive today. You've been here since yesterday, and asked Hinata to give you a room for the night. Like I said: Not very clever, are you?"

Naruto huffed and retorted sheepishly, "Yeah, well…I thought it was clever. How'd you see through my fool-proof plan, huh?" Sasuke smirked and leaned back, "Fool-proof? I don't think so, since you're the one who thought of it." The men glared at each other, and though the pressure seemed to be rising, it was actually lowering.

"You haven't changed, eh, ya' bastard?" The blonde laughed aloud, causing Sasuke to roll his eyes. "Quiet. Sakura's sleeping." Naruto grinned mischievously, holding his own chin.

"Heeey, Sasuke-teme. Are you jealous? I get to pose as her fiancé- OOF!" His smug remark was cut off by a hard punch to his head. It was done so quickly, but he knew the butler was the one who committed the crime. "Okay, I get, you are- ACK!" He was punched again.

"Silence, fool."

Naruto laughed again and rubbed his head. "Ahaha…ow." He changed his position on the couch, lying himself down and putting his hands behind his blonde head. "Aaaaah. Despite being opposite beings, we get along pretty well." Sasuke snorted, mumbling,

"You must be fooling yourself."

…

…

"So. You told Sakura-chan about the story of Deathland, huh?" Naruto sounded whimsical, and his eyes looked as if they were looking at something faraway. He forced a smile and shrug, "Well, I guess they'd find the story sooner or later. I didn't know someone made a book about it." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"The story's well known in the White Rose, Black Rose, and especially the Blue Rose Realm. I didn't expect it to reach the Red Rose Realm, though. It must've been leaked."

The blonde's eyebrows scrunched up, seeming as if he was thinking hard, "I don't think it matters much. Many think it's a fairytale, so I highly doubt someone will get an idea. The worst case scenario is someone realizing that Spade SOULdier is linked to the Atrum Lux Lucis in the story, then capturing her and possibly attempt to kill her." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You sound smart for once."

"Shut up, teme!"

"Let's see. The Black Rose Realm is ruled by those of the dark: devils, demons, etc. It could be possible someone leaked it from there, since many mischievous demons like to cause problems in the Red Rose Realm. The White Rose Realm is ruled by the light: angels, etc. I'm not sure if anyone would've said anything, and if not, it was probably on accident. I can be proved wrong. The Blue Rose Realm is ruled by the myths: fairies, unicorns, vampires, werewolves, the like. There's a very strong chance that someone said something, since many have appeared in the Red Rose Realm to the point that they were noticed." The raven haired man went through the basic facts with a bored look.

"The Red Rose Realm, the domain ruled by humans. They are the only one of the four realms who can't and do not know about entering the other worlds. I'm sure other humans have explored the theory, but reached a dead end. Due to some foolish actions of the Blue Rose Realm, some humans have seen the mysterious creatures and formed stories about them. Of course, they aren't believable in mundane terms, so many considered them fairytales." Sasuke shrugged, "But, this isn't the point. I've been so blind, even stupid, not realize that this story was connected to SOULdiers. After all this time…" He ran a hand through his hair.

Naruto nodded, his face all serious.

"Yeah. It means we can save Sakura-chan."

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

**A way to save her?**

It brings hope into a hopeless world.

**Despite wearing these heavy shackles,**

**She had never once complained.**

**That is one of the reasons I want to free her.**

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

"…What are you doing here so early?" Sakura asked. A thin, pink eyebrow was twitching along with her right eye, and her foot was tapping furiously. Naruto gulped and flinched away, holding his hands up in defense. "I-I just wanted to see you, tha-that's all." She rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling nonetheless. "Whatever."

Hinata smiled as she watched the two argue. Then the maid realized she had to go get the food, and she quickly ran out of the room.

Sasuke sighed and slapped the back of the blonde's head. "Stop fooling around and eat." He then placed a dish of vegetables in front of him. Sakura covered her mouth, holding in her giggles.

"What the…What's this, teme?" Naruto asked as he looked from his 'food' to the butler for giving this 'food' and then to his fiancée for help. He gasped, feeling abandoned when she looked away and began to laugh. Sasuke smirked and placed the forks and knives in front of the Uzumaki,

"Bon appetit." He chuckled under his breath darkly as he bowed, then walked out of the room to get Sakura's food.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined as he sobbed, poking the unknown green vegetation with his fork. "Why? This is so unfair!" The said girl rolled her emerald orbs and shook her head,

"It is not. I know on your own, you eat pretty unhealthily. Let me guess…Those noodles called ramen? They might be tasty, but eating them everyday isn't good. You have to eat veggies, too, you know." Sakura scolded, crossing her arms. The blonde grumbled and slumped, "You sound like my mom."

The two soon simmered down into silence. Silence; something that has been enveloping everything lately. It was odd for Naruto to let even a second of quiet into a room. Sakura was ready to break the silence, but to her relief, he did.

"I heard from Sasuke you met Tenten of the Crimson Knights, again."

She blinked, and then slowly nodded. "Yeah…She saved me once before in a little accident. It's not big enough to be mentioned, but I realized she had a tattoo and accidentally slipped up about mine, and that's how we met." Sakura leaned back, but her shoulders weren't relaxed, "Though she's only a year older than me, it feels like she's so much older. Being the head of the Crimson Knights at that age…Even being the first lady knight and the youngest person to ever earn such a position. It's truly admiring, but…I don't envy her."

It was Naruto's turn to blink. He innocently tilted his head to the side. "Eh? Why's that?"

Sakura grinned and replied,

"Because I have you two- ACK! How embarrassing." She turned red and slapped herself, "How uncharacteristic! Don't you dare tell anyone!" She threatened, holding up her fist. Naruto laughed nervously and waved his arms,

"Ah! Okay, I promise! DON'T KILL ME!"

Sakura couldn't help it. Even as these heart-clenching memories went inside her mind, the fairytale about Deathland and possible future of the Spade SOULdier, his grin seemed to assure her that she was okay. It was the same feeling she got when she simply stared into Sasuke's eyes.

Suddenly, the door slammed open to see a Hinata drenched in cold sweat. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she had a tight grip on her apron.

"W-we…W-we…Have a g-g-guest, L-Lady Sakura."

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

**I want to free her from her cage**

**And cut the chains that keep her on the floor.**

**I will let her fly**

**And dance around freely**

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

Sakura walked quickly down the hallway, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Naruto kept up, looking at her expression worriedly but understanding the situation enough to stay silent. She had an idea of who the person was that shook Hinata up to the point that she was cooped up in her room, but she didn't think he'd show up today. Honestly, the young mistress thought…it was random.

"Naruto, you don't need to follow." Sakura ordered as they closed in on the destination, causing her pace to quicken. The blonde frowned in disagreement, keeping up. Through huffs and puffs, he said, "Nu uh. I can follow if I want to." The engaged couple halted to a stop.

"Don't be stupid! I don't even know who the guest is because Hinata ran off before she even told me." She whispered angrily. Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly and replied, "Yeah, well, that gives me more of a reason to go!" The Esmeralda pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "You know what? Fine. Whatever. Okay? Let's go!"

Which as much calm as she could, Sakura turned the gold knob, pushing the door open slowly.

Sitting on the couch was Tenten with two other men. One with a bowl cut stood next to her, back straight and hands behind his back in a self-disciplined manner. The other had his back faced towards Sakura and Naruto, leaning on the couch with his arms crossed. He had long, coffee colored hair tied neatly in a ponytail.

The man slowly turned around, and the two caught a glimpse of a familiar colored eye.

A pearl white.

"Sit. I brought tea." Sasuke ordered in a low enough for only the two to hear, causing them to flinch and quickly take a seat in front of the knight.

"Ah. It's good to see you again, Tenten." Sakura bowed as she sat down. Tenten blushed at the pink haired girl being polite and shook her head, "P-please stop being so formal! I'm still not so…use to it…Uhm. Yes, it's good to see you, too…Uh." Her brunette eyes looked at Naruto.

"Oh! Uh, this is my fiancé, Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura introduced, nudging him in the gut not so gently. Naruto bit down his yelp and held out his hand, "Argh…Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of positive things about you."

The brunette knight shook the hand, obviously stunned from shock, "Oh, uhm, yeah. I've heard many things about you as well, Lord Naruto." The said man paused and couldn't help but ask, "…Were they good things?"

"…"

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

DING!

"Oh! Yes, of course, they were good things." Tenten said. Suddenly, the bowl cut man with bushy eyebrows collapsed to the floor, crying.

"…Eh?" Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

"I'm sorry, this is Rock Lee. He's my apprentice, but he's been admiring you from afar for a very long time." Tenten helped him up and patted the poor guy's back. Rock Lee said through tears, "I…I'm not surprised that someone with your beauty is already engaged! But, I won't give up! I will fight honorably for your love!"

Naruto snapped. Grinning, he raised an eyebrow challengingly and asked, "Oh yeah?" He was smacked in the back of the head. "Behave."

Sakura glanced at the coffee haired man.

"And he is…?"

"He is Hyuuga Neji. He and Rock Lee will be accompanying you on this journey to the Blue Rose Realm."

To be continued…

**.**

…

……

…

**.**

**A/N: Exhausted. We apologize if it's rushed.**


	4. evanescence

**The Little Voice**

Standard disclaimer applies.

**a/n:** _Lunatic says [I like the fact that Sasuke, who usually has a 'greater-than-thou' attitude is reduced to having to be someone else's servant. I should make that clearer in this and future chapters. And yeah, by now, you should know who the voice belongs to cause I'm making it obvious.]_

_Blue says [In this chapter, you'll see another special skill Sasuke has...Also, we're going to go back and forth from using Japanese suffixes and such...We apologize.]_

WARNING: Will get lime/citrusy later, however not that explicit.

* * *

**/scene three/**

Evanescence

_I __**refuse**__ to let all of our memories_

_Become a mere __**evanescence**__._

_Even if you've forgotten everything we've been through,_

_We'll preserve everything_

_Our happy, sad, angry, __**every moment**__ we had together._

"I shall take my leave." Sasuke said with a bow before he exited the room. He could feel Naruto's obvious stares as he did; he really wanted to scold the dobe for making it so bloody obvious, but whatever. For now, he had to play his role as a loyal butler and dismiss himself when it seemed best to do so. After closing the doors, he caught sight of Hinata, who was hiding behind a column and staring nervously at the room he just left.

_Ah yes, that's right. Those two are from the same family._ He feigned ignorance about her obvious stares and pretended to leave.

Then, he stepped into the darkness of the house and disappeared into the shadows.

Hinata warily eyed Sasuke's back until it faded into black from her sight. She quickly scurried over to the door of the _'meeting'_ room and stared through the wall. "Byakugan..." The maid whispered as the veins around her eyes began to enlarge and spied on them.

Naruto let out a yawn, but stopped midway. After he felt a sudden pang in his chest, he looked at the spot on the wall that separated Hinata from them.

"Is something wrong, urm, Naruto-san?" Lee was asking, raising his large eyebrows and tilting his head to the side. He was oblivious, like Tenten; meanwhile, the other male partner acted as if he didn't notice.

The blonde grinned and replied, "Oh, no, it's nothing, hahahaha-" He laughed sheepishly and scratched his scalp. Naruto then glanced at his_ 'fiancee'_, who he guessed that she noticed and said nothing anyway. He shrugged to himself and played along, "Anyway, keep going."

Tenten nodded. "A-ah, yes, anyway," She cleared her throat, "I have decided that we should look for the Diamond SOULdier." Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed as they stared at the Spade SOULdier warily.

"Why should we start searching now?"

The brunette remained firm. "I believe it'd be better if we knew who the Diamond SOULdier is, then maybe we...we can..."

"We can stop anything _BAD_ from happening?" Sakura finished. Tenten sighed and replied almost too low to hear, "Well, I wouldn't use that arrangement of words, maybe not even those words at all but..."

The pink haired girl shrugged and bluntly asked, "But what can we do? For all we know, the Diamond SOULdier is dead-"

"He's not!" The scarlet warrior shook her head, "I bet you, he's not..."

"And you know this...?"

"I know tthis…because the Spade SOULdier is fated to die first." Tenten answered with her brown eyes downcast. The room was eerily silent while her slightly faltering voice echoed, "And SOULdiers don't die so easily, you know. They-...We don't die by getting run over by horses or getting stabbed by a petty thief. The cause of their death is usually under...peculiar and fated circumstances."

_"NII-CHAN! GRAB MY HAND!" The pink haired girl saw her hand outstretched to a dark figure through the cage bars. "PLEASE!" She saw him smile and shake his head, and then he said-_

She flinched and was startled by the flashback. Had he died like he was fated to? Or was he still alive somewhere?

"...Have you read about your predicted death?" Sakura asked. Her emerald eyes bore into Tenten's, whose own widened in clear fear. Tenten shook her head, "No. I refuse to. I'll face my death head on, whatever it may be."

_Knock. Knock._

"I brought you some snacks." Came Hinata's voice. The door opened with a "click" and a creaking noise. Naruto nodded and ushered the maid in, hoping to ease the mood with tasty sweets and light talk. However, Sakura knew the tension wouldn't cease here.

"Hinata."

Everyone looked at Neji. It was the first thing he had said since he was here. Naruto grimaced; another silent, haughty, arrogant, bastard. Just what he needed: another kind of Sasuke. The blonde paused and finally noticed the trait that made them obviously related.

"Ah!" His blue eyes looked at Hinata, "Ah...!" He looked back at Neji. "AH!" He shot up and pointed, "YOU BOTH HAVE WHITE EYES?" He emphasized his point by motioning towards his own. The Uzumaki knew very well that pearl eyes...weren't common in the least, and that the only way the two would have the same trait is if they were-

Hinata gulped and an even paler shade of white, almost a sickly light blue. The coffee haired man grunted and muttered under his breath, "You just noticed?" Naruto flinched. A vein appeared on his forehead and his whiskered cheek.

"You bastard-"

BAM!

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...Sakura...Sakura-chan..." Naruto held onto the growing bump on his head. "What...I don't even...I didn't even-!" He sobbed and feigned hurt, "What did I do to deserve this, honey?" The said girl flinched at the awkward nickname and smacked him.

"Stop causing unnecessary ruckus."

As the engaged couple continued bickering, Lee (who really had nothing to say up until this point) pouted in slight jealousy but caught sight of what was sitting on Sakura's lap. "Oh, Sakura-san, you have a cat?" Naruto blinked and looked down.

"Oh yeah, since when was that here?"

"I-It must've snuck in a-after I entered w-with your snacks." Hinata answered. She began transferring all the treats from the cart she just rolled in onto the coffee table and gulped. She felt herself sweating under her cousin's hawk-like eyes, and the blonde noticed this.

"Hey, what's your problem?" He asked, countering Neji's piercing, pearl stare with his own glare. Sakura remained silent and stroked her cat's hair, while Tenten and Lee continued to bask in the awkwardness. "Nothing. I do not have any problems at all." The coffee haired man coolily replied, leaned back on the elegant-styled couch, and sipped his tea. "However, your maid seems to have many."

Hinata flinched at the insult. How long as it been since she heard such cold words from him? Before, it was everyday. Ever since she left, it had been years. And now, his words hurt just as much as they did when they were younger. "I-" She started, but was interrupted by her master.

"I'd prefer it if you did not speak of my maid that way." Sakura smiled. "She may have trouble speaking to people, but I assure you, she's a very fine and strong woman indeed." The violet haired maid blushed and looked down. Though she was complimented every day by Sakura (receiving much more compliments than the other two), she couldn't get used to the kind words.

"Really now?" Neji narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "This little runaway?" Naruto slammed his fists on the table, causing some of the tea to spill. Tenten stood up, "That's enough, Neji! Please..." Her face was pleading. Lee, too, sent him a pleading look. And with that, the Hyuuga succumbed.

_"...How uncomfortable."_

Sakura gritted her teeth. The voice was so loud, causing her ears to ring. Her emerald eyes looked around; she knew who the voice belonged to.

And he was sneering.

The black cat nuzzled up against her neck and purred in satisfaction. After regaining his composure, Naruto let out a sigh and looked back at her. Noticing her face draining of its color, he asked, "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" She slowly nodded in assurance.

"Mhm. Hinata, you may leave now."

Hinata nodded, bowed, and left the room as if nothing happened. After closing the door, she let out a heavy sigh and fell onto her knees. How stressful. This morning has been so...stressful. Oh so very stressful. She wobbled off to find some work to do. Her black shoes clacked against the marble floors, resounding throughout the high ceiling hallway. Hm.

Where was Uchiha-san?

* * *

_For someone like me, I'll easily become a bilocation for you._

_As long as something, a little __**fragment**__, a little piece of me_

_is always with you._

_For this is the incunabulum_

_and you have yet to see what someone like me can do._

_

* * *

_

"I'll see you soon, Sakura." Tenten bowed and bid good bye before she entered her horse-drawn carriage. "_**HIYAH**_!" A crack of the whip signaled the horses start toward home. The black, iron gates swung open with an odd screech and let the Spade Souldier through. The sound of galloping and wheels turning grew fainter and fainter, and finally, they were heard no more.

Sakura caressed her black cat's fur, sighing as she watched the red clad warrior leave. She rubbed the back of her neck and turned to return inside, but stopped when the other three began talking.

"...Neji, was it okay to leave Tenten alone by herself?" Lee asked, his eyes still staring at the direction she left. The said man shoved his hands in the pockets of his white, formal pants. "It doesn't matter what was okay to do and what was not. Sakura is our true master, and that is where our duty will go from now on. Just like Uchiha and the runaway." Neji glanced at her. In return, she stuck her tongue out.

Naruto scoffed. "You act too high and mighty to be a servant." Like Sasuke. Neji huffed and replied, "I'm only willing to dedicate myself to someone worthy. Sakura has yet to prove that to me." Sakura shrugged and acted uncaring, but grumbled, "I'll show him worthy...with my fists."

Unsure, the bushy eyed browed man continued, "But...what if she hears...hears the little voices again? Isn't that something to worry about?" Lee scratched the back of his head sheepishly but said it in all seriousness as he paced back and forth in front of the house. Sakura paused.

"Little voices?"

_**"Hn? Just like yours?"**_

Sakura gasped and clutched her head. She went unnoticed by the others, who were quietly chatting amongst themselves.

_**"Are you happy that there's someone else like you? Hm?"**_ The familiar voice drawled out in a dark tone. She could almost hear a smirk. A scornful look spread across her beautiful features as she whispered, "Not in the least." She knew, anyway, that other SOULdiers heard odd voices in their head as well, even though there's no significant meaning about when or why the voices spoke...Right?

He chuckled. To her, it sounded like borderline cackling. Then, he whispered, _**"So, have you been hearing anything lately?"**_ It was a sarcastic question; she knew who this voice belonged to.

"Hm? What was that, Sakura?" Neji asked, his ear catching a bit of what she was muttering to herself about. Naruto, acting like the good fiancée he was, and Lee, acting like a jealous high school boy, fumed and yelled, "Hey! Don't address Sakura/-san so familiarly!"

The Hyuuga snorted and corrected himself with sarcasm, "Whatever. Sakura-_sama_. Just know I'm only doing this because you're my master."

He spun around on his heel and began walking up the stairs to the front door.

"Hn. He's pretty cocky for a servant." Naruto commented as he crossed his arms. Lee sighed and nodded in agreement, "Yes, however he is respectable. I admire him." The blonde snorted, "THAT guy?"

Sakura observed them from afar. _** "You seek the Spade soldier out. You must be careful. Humans who enter the Blue Rose Realm" **_ There was a suspenseful pause that made her heart stop for a second. _**"never come back."**_ The cat's golden eyes melted away into a ruby red as he purred and curled up in his owner's arms.

"Yes. Neji-san," Lee seemed to look distant for a second before he continued, "has much more gifts than I do. I am not at all special." He grinned and held up his arm, "But, I am dedicated! I trained myself to be where I am now, with no help from talents and special abilities." Naruto couldn't help but grin back and laugh. He wrapped an arm around the bushy-browed man and say,

"I like you, Lee." And the two walked in together, and talked and laughed loudly as if they had no care in the world. She cracked a crooked smile; at least they got along well. That smile soon melted away when she held up her hand to look at her SOULdier's mark.

She was only half of the heart. What can she do without the other half? She was nothing without her brother! She was a failure of a SOULdier...

She heard the voice again-

Smirking, _again_-

**Mocking her, **_**AGAIN-**_

_**"But we don't have to worry about you going, hm? After all...**_

_**you're not human."**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Our relationship was so byzantine_

_it was always me, you and him._

_Your palingenesis was so tristful._

_As we came down from our thrones_

_We caused all the worlds to horripilate._

_

* * *

_

Naruto and Lee walked down cheerfully down the hallway. "So, uhm, how did you and Sakura-chan meet?" Lee asked and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. This caused the other man to come to complete halt.

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes were wide and reminiscent, but upon remembering the current situation, he laughed it off and said, "Oh, yeah, that, well you see..."

"They're not really engaged."

The blonde didn't have to turn around to know who said it. He grinned and seethed through his teeth, "Well, Sasuke-teme, I enjoy playing this role-" He took a deep breath and exploded, "WHY'D YOU HAVE TO TELL HIM!" He grabbed the butler, who had seemed to have crawled out from the shadows, and shook him violently.

"It's the truth, and you know, I'm an honest person." Sasuke replied with an apathetic tone and shoved Naruto off, then brushed his black coat off. "Besides, they'll be with us from now on, so it'd be pointless to hide it from them.

"Huh? So, you're not really engaged?" Lee asked hopefully. Naruto frowned, not liking the new look at the guy's face. The angel glanced at his butler rival and made a face: _'Now look what you did.' _ Sasuke glanced at Lee's face and couldn't help but agree quietly. "No, they're not. It's only for appearances to ward off any unwanted guests." He explained.

Naruto yawned and added, "I mean, wouldn't it be obvious a single, young, beautiful, wealthy, intelligent-" Insert a thousand more adjectives, "girl would constantly attract suitors, no? So, we have to completely remove that, or else we will just be burdened with having to make sure everything is covered up. We need to remain unsuspicious."

Lee nodded vigorously, "Ah, I see, I see." It seemed as if something was renewed in him, only irritating Naruto more.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid STUPID, STUPID, STUUUUPID, STUUUUUPIIIIID TEME-

Sasuke rolled his onyx eyes. Whatever. The Uzumaki is only throwing a tantrum, and once Sakura appears, he'll stop and return to his happy mood. When it comes to making him happy, he was simple-minded.

"Is there something the matter here?"

The three turned around to see the said mistress, who stared at them as if they each grew a new appendage when she wasn't looking. Sasuke resumed his professional tone and shook his head, "No, nothing." Naruto followed and gave a casual smile, while Lee agreed but then quickly exited to find his partner.

The Uchiha took out his watch and read the time. "Ah, it's time for your bath." Gently, he scooped her up into his armies and began to carry her off. The angel boy pouted, obviously jealous. Suddenly, he gasped and looked around,

"Hey, Sakura-chan, where'd your cat go?"

She shrugged in her butler's arms. "I don't know. It just jumped out of arms and ran out into the garden." With that, the blonde just shrugged, and made his way to the kitchen to bother Hinata for a snack. Sasuke hid his smirk and caressed her hair as he walked up the stairs.

"How was your talk?"

Sakura sneered and growled back at him, "Like you don't know, you sneaky ba-" He frowned disapprovingly and interuppted innocently, "How many times must I remind you, Sakura-sama, that ladies do not speak in that manner." She scoffed and muttered an apology,

"I apologize, it seems I've been spending too much time with Naruto."

"That can be easily changed." Sakura looked up in horror, staring at her butler whom just faked a smile. After a moment of silence, he gave a sarcastic laugh, "I was joking. Maybe." She huffed and shook her head.

They entered the clean, white tiled room exclusively for bathing. A door on the side led to the toilet and sink. In the center of a room was a large Roman bathtub surrounded by four high columns, and right above on the ceiling was a glass window that showed the afternoon, orange light.

He set her on the steps of the tub and slowly undressed her, causing her to blush. "Can you hurry? This is embarassing." Then the all too familiar expression entered his face. "Hm? What do you mean?"

Sasuke was teasing again. He removed his gloves with his teeth and tossed it carelessly to the side. Gently, he made her turn around. Then, he began to undo her red lacing with his pale, slender fingers. As more was revealed with each lace, he let his free hand stroke the newly-exposed creamy skin. Eventually, the dress slipped off her shoulders and pooled onto the floor, leaving her in her corset and white, poofy boomers.

"I don't even know why you bother wearing a corset," He murmured against her skin, which was covered in goosebumps. He reached out his right hand and turned the golden handle, causing the warm water to shoot out of the faucet and fill the tub. Steam began to slowly fill the room.

The servant began to untie her corset. Whenever he placed it on her, he'd never tighten it to the point that it was health damaging. She didn't need it anyway. He frowned to himself; her body was fine. He pulled the corset off and massaged the temporary marks left by it, covering them in kisses.

It felt like hours had past, just like this, just the two of them, to Sakura. She continued to tremble and quiver to his touch and felt one of his strong hands slither up her stomach and to her average sized breasts. He covered them with his arm.

"Cold?" He whispered into her ear as his other hand pull down her remaining undergarment. After she was fully undressed, she quickly wriggled out of his arms and jumped into the tub, not caring that it might be too hot. As long as she got away from his embarassing touch, she'd be fine. She opened her eyes and stared innocently at him.

Sasuke smirked, shook his head, and pulled up a basket with soap and a sponge. He placed it down near the edge of the bathtub. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "Alright, that will be all-" She gasped when he pulled his coat off. "Wait...Sasuke-"

He ceremoniously unbutton his white shirt and lightly tossed his pocket watch onto the forming pile of clothes. With that, he wordless unbuckled his pants and snorted.

"Bath time."

* * *

_Princess, princess, princess,_

_How much I pity you..._

_Please, notice quickly, do not prevaricate_

_the ruins you're falling to._

_I'll stand beside you all the way._

_after all,_

_I'm your best friend.

* * *

_

"Shikamaru, listen!"

A platinum blonde girl

The said man rolled his eyes and remained focused on the chess game and his opponent in front of him. "Ino-hime, please go fulfill your princess-y duties and cease your bothersome yelling." He took a snack from the trays laid out on the table, but was only smacked aw

"But, honestly! Hey, can you seriously listen to me for a second?"

"NO." He retorted bluntly and slammed his bishop, which made him on the offensive. His opponent cringed and stroked his facial hair. Ino gasped. She stomped her feet, causing her velvet purple dress to swish back and forth. "Asuma-sensei!"

Shikamaru's opponent just chuckled. He didn't want to get himself tangled in the mess and instead, he said nothing and contemplated his next move. The princess just huffed and waved her fan.

"That girl..." She sighed, "I don't know why I feel so _CONNECTED _to her, you know?" Her eyes trailed down to her pinky. She wriggled her hand; it indeed still felt weird whenever she went near that flower shop.

Shikamaru paused and glanced up at his princess. "I bet not. You just want an excuse to see her handsome butler." The blonde shrugged, "Yeah, that too, but honestly, I do..." She closed her aquamarine eyes and imagined the yarrow the pink haired girl had handed her earlier. "Her flowers...They heal Mother..."

Asuma continued to stay silent and sighed, the smoke of his cigarette blown all over the chess board. Shikamaru snorted. "Give up yet?" The older man laughed out loud, "Nah, maybe soon."

Ino shook her head. "Pft. Royal bodyguards for nothing." She couldn't help but smile and let them be. "I'll go grab you guys something to eat." The princess lifted her dress a little and scurried off, her high heels making it quite obvious to the two.

No one spoke. The hall was in utter silence. By now, everyone was at the dinner hall three floors below, chatting loudly amongst each other.

"..." Asuma took another puff. "It seems she is getting closer to Sakura." He moved a piece.

The intelligent young man gave a sigh. "Yeah. Things are about to get troublesome." He moved a piece as well. He scratched the back of his neck. The older of the two stroked his chin and squinted.

After he made his move, he reminded, "Mm. And you know how Ino-hime is. She's reluctant to face her reality, even when it comes to her mom. Before you know it, she'll become unrecognizable." More smoke escaped his mouth as he spoke.

Shikamaru coughed and waved his hand. "Drowning in gluttony." He made countered and moved another piece.

The smoker paused and analyzed the board; he looked at every single piece, both his and his pupil's. After what seemed like a long while, he shook his head and held his hands up. "Ahhh, I forfeit."

Shikamaru smirked, "No surprise there."

"Asuma-sensei! Asuma-sensei!" A frantic voice called from down the hallway, included by thunderous footsteps and short breaths in between. The said man and Shikamaru jumped in surprised. "Ah, yes Chouji, what is it?"

Chouji stopped before them and leaned on his knees, trying to catch his breath. In between each inhale, he spat broken sentences, "Message...from...Important...IMPORTANT...for...looking...looking for..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and threw a piece of food at him. "Here, then you can talk."

Enthusiastically, the plump man devoured it quickly. After he gulped it down, he ran to the table next to his best friend and grabbed the golden pitcher of water and drank it down. "Oh man, thanks, that hit the spot!" He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and regained his composure. "Anyway, Asuma-sensei." Assuming a serious face, he took out a neat envelope with a red seal on it and handed it over.

"It's a letter from Sakura-sama of the Esmeralda family."

The color drained from Shikamaru's face; instead of his teacher, he grabbed it before him and stared at the seal stamped on it's back. Indeed, it was the Esmeralda insignia. Everything was really starting, now. Asuma carefully, with no rudeness whatsoever, took the letter from Shikamaru's hand and sighed.

"So it seems the death toll will be rising soon." Taking out a pocket knife, he neatly opened it and unfolded it's contents. He read it slowly and carefully, making sure to intake every word clearly. Shikamaru watched intently while Chouji muttered, "What does it say, what does it say?"

Suddenly, Asuma shot up and crushed the cigarette between his teeth. "Go get-"

"You called?"

A smirk spread across the goateed man's face while he shook his head. He immediately recognized the voice and replied, "You...Hear everything from anywhere, don't you?"

"Mm. You should know, I'm quite skilled." Came the reply and a borderline sarcastic chuckle.

"You recognize this seal, don't you?" Asuma gave a crooked smile and threw the letter at the silver haired man, who caught it with an ease between his index and middle finger. The newly arrived stranger remained uneasily silent.

"...This."

"Yes. It's what you've been waiting for, Kakashi."

* * *

_Remember me, please, remember_

_The sad times, the happy times,_

_every moment with you was...is precious,_

_but it ended so horribly_

_remember me, remember me please,_

_so we can be reunited once more before I set you free.

* * *

_

"Is she sleeping?" Naruto asked as he peeked through the crack between the mahogany door and the ornate door frame. Sasuke slowly nodded and stopped stroking her head. He pulled up the sheets and tucked her in before blowing the candle out and quietly exited the room.

The time these two men's nightly meetings became a ritual. It was nothing perverse, don't get them wrong.

It was a sort of time when neither of them hated each other or blamed the other for something, like they normally did during the day: this was more serious. It was more so the time they spent wallowing in their own self-anguish and blaming themselves for their own past doings. Then, they would spend time attacking each other verbally and point out their flaws and perfections that they envy of eache other, then silently share their agreements on subjects such as...

Well, Sakura.

"...How long has it been?"

The butler ignored the question and muttered, "You're awfully talkative tonight."

"It's...It's starting."

"I know."

"...Do you think we can protect her this time?"

"..." This was questioning both their self-confidences.

They both were usually so proudful and confident about everything. It always seemed like there was nothing they couldn't do (physically, anyway). It wasn't hard to beat up a couple guys with guns with nothing or take them down with fists when they had swords. For them, it wasn't hard to attract women, find out every single detail about a stranger in a different country, or threaten a little kid when needed be. With their position and power, it would be easy to bring world peace with an iron fist.

But, there was so many things they didn't know how to do.

They didn't know how to love her without crushing her into tiny pieces and suffocating the life out of her. They didn't know how to comfort her when she was crying. They didn't know how to tell her she wasn't really alone when she felt the loneliest. They didn't know how to tell her not to worry without lying; her life was destined for danger.

Which was ironic and probably why they were so deeply involved in each other's lives, despite anything they did.

Yeah.

They didn't know how to keep her out of their lives.

Sasuke completely stopped in his eerily calm footsteps. He turned around, and once onyx met ocean blue, Naruto instantly understood what was going on behind the composed face. The flashbacks and the memories, from the best to the worst, from the most fun to the most depressing. He remembered, too. He was always there. Always.

Always.

The Uzumaki immediately broke his gaze away and couldn't help but tear up. "Do you think...You think, maybe it would've been better if we haven't met at all? Do you think she wouldn't be here, suffering and sad and alone if it wasn't for us?"

"It's too late to think that. Would you have preferred never to meet her?"

"Of course, if I knew that she'd have to go through this-"

"But you didn't know that. When you met her, did you regret it before anything happened?"

"No, of course not, I-"

"It's fine as long as you don't regret anything and that Sakura's happy." Sasuke promptly replied then remained silent the rest of the walk.

Finally, they entered the study. Every possible space on the wall was taken by a form of shelf that was stacked to the brim with books of different sizes. A couple of ladders were lined up against them. The only form of natural light was from the one wall made of glass, but it was night and covered by a curtain.

Sasuke snapped his fingers, which caused all the candles in the room to be lit. Afterwards, he collapsed onto a nearby vintage couch and began massaging his scalp. Naruto decided to take a seat on the floor. When he sensed that the atmosphere was comfortable enough, he spoke.

"Did you send the message?"

"Yeah." The dark haired man pulled his tie off and loosened his collar. The blonde sighed.

"So we're really going…?"

"Aa."

Naruto's blue eyes looked downward. "They'll recognize us right away. Unlike humans, the Blue Rose Realm people live much longer unlike the immortal White and Black Realm. And unlike her, they remember who we are." His eyes flared and his whole body became stiff with alertness at the thought. "It'll blow our cover."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and gave out an inhuman hiss. "Calm down."

"NO!"

"We have to go, Naruto, it's necessary."

"They'll know!" He screeched and bared his fangs. The blonde shot up alarmingly fast and slammed his hand onto the oak table, causing it to snap in half and splinters to fly everywhere. "They'll know, Sasuke. It's not hard to recognize us in any other realm but here. There's no one left alive here to know…to know…who we"

On fear that someone would hear, they exchanged the worlds silently, through their eyes, through their minds.

Someone would know, once they were seen in the mysterious Blue Rose Realm.

Someone would recognize...

...that they were the rulers of the Black Rose and White Rose Realm.

* * *

_This throne means nothing._

_This crown means nothing._

_Everything means nothing._

_When you are not here by my side._

_I'm tired, but I know so are you_

_and so I won't complain.

* * *

_

A/N: YEEEEESSSSS ACCOMPLISHMEEEENT. So long. 5,951 words. I'M TIRED. SO TIRED. We...we don't feel like explaining all we've been through since we last updated. Oh my gosh...I feel like dying...I had to proofread this while doing a whole bunch of...man. Anyway. We're back. I guess.


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